The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Complete Contents...

(1896.)

I. Influence of Birth in determining Religious Belief—Scotch, Irish, English, and Americans Inherit their Faith—Religions of Nations not Suddenly Changed—People who Knew—What they were Certain About—Revivals—Character of Sermons Preached—Effect of Conversion—A Vermont Farmer for whom Perdition had no Terrors—The Man and his Dog—Backsliding and Re-birth—Ministers who were Sincere—A Free Will Baptist on the Rich Man and Lazarus—

II. The Orthodox God—The Two Dispensations—The Infinite Horror—

III. Religious Books—The Commentators—Paley's Watch Argument—Milton, Young, and Pollok—

IV. Studying Astronomy—Geology—Denial and Evasion by the Clergy—

V. The Poems of Robert Burns—Byron, Shelley, Keats, and Shakespeare—

VI. Volney, Gibbon, and Thomas Paine—Voltaire's Services to Liberty—Pagans Compared with Patriarchs—

VII. Other Gods and Other Religions—Dogmas, Myths, and Symbols of Christianity Older than our Era—

VIII. The Men of Science, Humboldt, Darwin, Spencer, Huxley, Haeckel—

IX. Matter and Force Indestructible and Uncreatable—The Theory of Design—

X. God an Impossible Being—The Panorama of the Past—

XI. Free from Sanctified Mistakes and Holy Lies.

(1897.) I. The Martyrdom of Man—How is Truth to be Found—Every Man should be Mentally Honest—He should be Intellectually Hospitable—Geologists, Chemists, Mechanics, and Professional Men are Seeking for the Truth—II. Those who say that Slavery is Better than Liberty—Promises are not Evidence—Horace Greeley and the Cold Stove—III. "The Science of Theology" the only Dishonest Science—Moses and Brigham Young—Minds Poisoned and Paralyzed in Youth—Sunday Schools and Theological Seminaries—Orthodox Slanderers of Scientists—Religion has nothing to do with Charity—Hospitals Built in Self-Defence—What Good has the Church Accomplished?—Of what use are the Orthodox Ministers, and What are they doing for the Good of Mankind—The Harm they are Doing—Delusions they Teach—Truths they Should Tell about the Bible—Conclusions—Our Christs and our Miracles.

(1896.) I. "There is no Darkness but Ignorance"—False Notions Concerning All Departments of Life—Changed Ideas about Science, Government and Morals—II. How can we Reform the World?—Intellectual Light the First Necessity—Avoid Waste of Wealth in War—III. Another Waste—Vast Amount of Money Spent on the Church—IV. Plow can we Lessen Crime?—Frightful Laws for the Punishment of Minor Crimes—A Penitentiary should be a School—Professional Criminals should not be Allowed to Populate the Earth—V. Homes for All-Make a Nation of Householders—Marriage and Divorce-VI. The Labor Question—Employers cannot Govern Prices—Railroads should Pay Pensions—What has been Accomplished for the Improvement of the Condition of Labor—VII. Educate the Children—Useless Knowledge—Liberty cannot be Sacrificed for the Sake of Anything—False worship of Wealth—VIII. We must Work and Wait.

(1897.) I. Our fathers Ages Ago—From Savagery to Civilization—For the Blessings we enjoy, Whom should we Thank?—What Good has the Church Done?-Did Christ add to the Sum of Useful Knowledge—The Saints—What have the Councils and Synods Done?—What they Gave us, and What they did Not—Shall we Thank them for the Hell Here and for the Hell of the Future?—II. What Does God Do?—The Infinite Juggler and his Puppets—What the Puppets have Done—Shall we Thank these Gods?—Shall we Thank Nature?—III. Men who deserve our Thanks—The Infidels, Philanthropists and Scientists—The Discoverers and Inventors—Magellan—Copernicus—Bruno—Galileo—Kepler, Herschel, Newton, and LaPlace—Lyell—What the Worldly have Done—Origin and Vicissitudes of the Bible—The Septuagint—Investigating the Phenomena of Nature—IV. We thank the Good Men and Good Women of the Past—The Poets, Dramatists, and Artists—The Statesmen—Paine, Jefferson, Ericsson, Lincoln. Grant—Voltaire, Humboldt, Darwin.

(1886.) Prayer of King Lear—When Honesty wears a Rag and Rascality a Robe-The Nonsense of "Free Moral Agency "—Doing Right is not Self-denial-Wealth often a Gilded Hell—The Log House—Insanity of Getting More—Great Wealth the Mother of Crime—Separation of Rich and Poor—Emulation—Invention of Machines to Save Labor—Production and Destitution—The Remedy a Division of the Land—Evils of Tenement Houses—Ownership and Use—The Great Weapon is the Ballot—Sewing Women—Strikes and Boycotts of No Avail—Anarchy, Communism, and Socialism—The Children of the Rich a Punishment for Wealth—Workingmen Not a Danger—The Criminals a Necessary Product—Society's Right to Punish—The Efficacy of Kindness—Labor is Honorable—Mental Independence.

(1895.)

I. The Old Testament—Story of the Creation—Age of the Earth and of Man—Astronomical Calculations of the Egyptians—The Flood—The Firmament a Fiction—Israelites who went into Egypt—Battles of the Jews—Area of Palestine—Gold Collected by David for the Temple—

II. The New Testament—Discrepancies about the Birth of Christ—Herod and the Wise Men—The Murder of the Babes of Bethlehem—When was Christ born—Cyrenius and the Census of the World—Genealogy of Christ according to Matthew and Luke—The Slaying of Zacharias—Appearance of the Saints at the Crucifixion—The Death of Judas Iscariot—Did Christ wish to be Convicted?—

III. Jehovah—

IV. The Trinity—The Incarnation—Was Christ God?—The Trinity Expounded—"Let us pray"—

V. The Theological Christ—Sayings of a Contradictory Character—Christ a Devout Jew—An ascetic—His Philosophy—The Ascension—The Best that Can be Said about Christ—The Part that is beautiful and Glorious—The Other Side—

VI. The Scheme of Redemption—

VII. Belief—Eternal Pain—No Hope in Hell, Pity in Heaven, or Mercy in the Heart of God—

VIII. Conclusion.

(1898.)

I. What is Superstition?—Popular Beliefs about the Significance of Signs, Lucky and Unlucky Numbers, Days, Accidents, Jewels, etc.—Eclipses, Earthquakes, and Cyclones as Omens—Signs and Wonders of the Heavens—Efficacy of Bones and Rags of Saints—Diseases and Devils—

II. Witchcraft—Necromancers—What is a Miracle?—The Uniformity of Nature—

III. Belief in the Existence of Good Spirits or Angels—God and the Devil—When Everything was done by the Supernatural—

IV. All these Beliefs now Rejected by Men of Intelligence—The Devil's Success Made the Coming of Christ a Necessity—"Thou shalt not Suffer a Witch to Live"—Some Biblical Angels—Vanished Visions—

V. Where are Heaven and Hell?—Prayers Never Answered—The Doctrine of Design—Why Worship our Ignorance?—Would God Lead us into Temptation?—President McKinley's Thanks giving for the Santiago Victory—

VI. What Harm Does Superstition Do?—The Heart Hardens and the Brain Softens—What Superstition has Done and Taught—Fate of Spain—Of Portugal, Austria, Germany—

VII. Inspired Books—Mysteries added to by the Explanations of Theologians—The Inspired Bible the Greatest Curse of Christendom—

VIII. Modifications of Jehovah—Changing the Bible—

IX. Centuries of Darkness—The Church Triumphant—When Men began to Think—

X. Possibly these Superstitions are True, but We have no Evidence—We Believe in the Natural—Science is the Real Redeemer.

(1899.)

I. If the Devil should Die, would God Make Another?—How was the Idea of a Devil Produced—Other Devils than Ours—Natural Origin of these Monsters—

II. The Atlas of Christianity is The Devil—The Devil of the Old Testament—The Serpent in Eden—"Personifications" of Evil—Satan and Job—Satan and David—

III. Take the Devil from the Drama of Christianity and the Plot is Gone—Jesus Tempted by the Evil One—Demoniac Possession—Mary Magdalene—Satan and Judas—Incubi and Succubi—The Apostles believed in Miracles and Magic—The Pool of Bethesda—